• Peer-reviewed journal article
  • Gold standard
  • Has been carefully reviewed by other scientists

• Oral presentation at a conference
  • May contain published and/or unpublished results
  • Presented to an expert audience w/ questions

• Poster presentation at a conference
  • Informal presentation
  • Visually appealing
  • Usually contains unpublished results

• Modern sci-comm is changing!
  • blogs, podcasts, tweets, etc

• A major part of many conferences is the poster session

• During a poster session, the author of the poster stands at their poster and informally presents it to interested passersby

• The presenter walks the person through their research project and latest results, answering questions and hearing criticisms from other scientists

• Posters are all about connecting with other scientists: LOTS of science happens this way

Follow size, layout, and materials specifications

Consider your audience and objectives

Use a clean organization and layout

Large, readable design

Minimize text, maximize figures

The presentation: prepare for discussion and questions

• Posters should be readable by viewers 3-5 feet away.
  • Use large print and block letters when possible

• Poster dimensions are 36” high by 48” wide
  • minimum font size of 28 point
  • maximum of 600 words

• Additional requirements:
  • headline strip that runs the full width of the poster
  • title, authors, & affiliations on the strip
  • abstract in the upper left-hand corner (if required)
  • include a contact email address
  • head shot now common (you are not always present)

• Your audience depends on the venue where you are presenting your poster:
  • Expert scientists in your field
  • Scientists in different fields
  • Peers or other students
  • Non-scientists

• In general, it is best to assume that your audience has no expert knowledge

• Consider whether your poster needs to be geared toward any specific communication objective
  • original research poster
  • narrative review

• Posters generally have these elements:
  • Good, informative Title
  • Introduction / Background: contains the information necessary to understand the research question.
    • May contain a statement of your problem/hypothesis
  • a brief methods section
  • Data and results: as visual as possible
  • Discussion or Conclusions: summarizes only the main points

• Optional elements:
  • Brief references section
  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract: conferences require you to submit an abstract ahead of time

• Minimize blocks of text
• Maximize use of figures
• Color-blind friendly palate
• Pay attention to trends

• Uncluttered, clean layout = good use of white space
  • simplicity is best: resist the urge to include everything (you can always say more)
  • maintain balance: visual elements should cover slightly more than 50% of the poster area
  • if you have only a few figures, make them large.
  • arrange into columns so eye movement over the poster is natural
  • Use fonts large enough for easy readability